


True Love Grows in Cupboards

by madeleone



Category: Harry Potter - Rowling
Genre: Complete, Drabble Series, F/M, Romance, mature for coarse language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-06
Updated: 2010-09-06
Packaged: 2017-10-11 13:07:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/112738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madeleone/pseuds/madeleone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written originally for the Grangersnape/100 challenge: storage cupboard challenge.  Over a<br/>period of years Severus and Hermione tend to have the odd habit of running into each other in<br/>storage cupboards. Perhaps true love grows there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	True Love Grows in Cupboards

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to my lovely beta Alley B.

It seemed that they had developed an unusual propensity for running into each other in storage cupboards. It was an odd occurance, but it just seemed fated to happen.

The first time, he was saving her life—literally.

It was during the war, in the midst of the Horcrux hunt. Hermione decided there was some obscure source of information at Hogwarts that she just absolutely had to have access to.

So, she took it upon herself to sneak into the castle in the dead of night to gather said resource. She really believed she could slip in and out again unnoticed.   


* * *

 

Of course, it was never that easy.

It was the wee hours of the morning for Circe's sake! 3:00AM! Who would expect the Carrows to be out patrolling the halls at that ungodly hour? But they were, and one of them spotted a movement or a shadow, or whatever; something had caught their eye, and both were soon in hot pursuit.

Hermione cast a silencing charm on her shoes then sprinted up the stairs; she hoped to lead them off. Then eventually she would sneak back down to the third floor to escape through the tunnel behind the humpbacked witch.  


* * *

 

The stairs kept shifting her away from where she needed to go. By the same token, they kept misdirecting the Carrows as well.

She eventually found herself on the seventh floor. Hermione considered the Room of Requirement, but that wouldn't get her out of the castle. She was sneaking past the entrance to the Headmaster's office when she heard them coming; they had split up and were approaching from both ends of the corridor.

There was no escape! Hermione took a defensive stance: if the Carrows captured her and turned her over to Voldemort, she was as good as dead!  


* * *

 

Suddenly, hands grabbed her and jerked her back into a storage cupboard that Mr. Filch kept cleaning-supplies in. She struggled as a hard hand covered her mouth while another snaked around her, pulling her back against a body.

"Shhh..." He spoke so softly she could barely hear, even with his mouth only centimeters from her ear. "Don't move, don't speak, don't… even… breath."

Snape!

He cast a silent locking charm on the door just seconds before it rattled sharply.

Hermione whimpered softly, sure they must hear her heart pounding. She spun, burying her face in his chest, clutching him tightly.  


* * *

 

His arms wrapped firmly around her, holding her securely. "Shhh..." He stroked her hair comfortingly.

"Alohamora! Damn, it won't open."

"Come on, Alecto, whoever it was got away this time. Let's get out of here before Snape wakes up and finds out we were chasing one of his precious pupils again."

They stood inside the cupboard for long minutes afterward, unmoving. Finally, he set her away from him and told her in no uncertain terms that she needed to get out of the castle and not return.

That night was her first clue that he was still on their side.  


* * *

 

The second time they met in a closet was nearly two years later, at the Ministry celebration for the anniversary of the fall of Voldemort.

Snape had survived the war—barely. It had taken him months to recover from Nagini's near fatal attack, only to discover that in the meantime, The Golden Trio had managed to clear his name brilliantly.

He was no longer looked upon as traitor, a murderer, a Death Eater, the greasy git of Hogwarts or the bat of the dungeons.

Suddenly, he was Severus Snape: brave, dark, dashing, desirable and a war hero.

He absolutely hated it!  


* * *

 

Women, and some men as well, followed him about. They threw themselves at him: sent him love letters, keys to their flats, their knickers for Merlin's fucking sake! What was wrong with them?

He didn't mind the recognition and respect for his service; he felt he'd earned that after all those years in a living hell. That was truly the only reason he'd come to the celebration, really, to collect his Order of Merlin, First Class.

He hated the celebrity aspect. He didn't want people he didn't know following him about, stalking him. It was embarrassing, discomfiting and time consuming.  


* * *

 

He just wanted to live in peace. How was he ever to live a normal life with all of this nonsense going on all of the time?

There was a ball scheduled after the banquet and awards ceremony. He had thought he could just steal away, but he was being pursued relentlessly by no less than four women. They just wouldn't take no for an answer; short of using Unforgivables on them, he didn't know what to do.

He heard them gaining behind him as he slipped down a quiet hallway. Suddenly, he was pulled forcibly into a cloak closet.   


* * *

 

Thinking it was one of his admirers, he pulled his wand, only to be pushed violently against the wall.

"Shh… don't fight me on this, Severus. I'm trying to save you from those barracudas."

"Severus? Miss Granger…"

"You aren't my teacher any more, Severus. And after all we've been through, I think we can be on a first name basis."

"Oh, very well then, Hermione. What is it exactly you think you're doing?"

"You saved me from the Carrows that night at Hogwarts. I'm returning the favor. Those girls may not be Death Eaters, but they're every bit as scary."  


* * *

 

They heard his stalkers approaching the closet. He made to lock the door, but she stopped him.

"No," she whispered. "Play along; we want them to open the door and see you're already taken."

With that her arms encircled his neck, fingers twining through his hair; leaning into his body, she wrapped one leg sensuously around his hip. Her lips met his in a passionate kiss just as the door slammed open.

There were gasps. "What are you doing with our professor?"

Hermione looked lazily over her shoulder and drawled, "I should think that it's perfectly obvious, ladies. He's mine."  


* * *

 

They didn't have to wait nearly as long for their next cupboard experience; only about three months passed before they met again.

After that night at the Ministry, the rumors had circulated widely that Hermione and Severus were a couple. She would neither confirm nor deny the rumors, and Snape had dropped out of the public eye, living in quiet privacy as he'd wished all along.

Truthfully, Hermione was a bit sad that Severus had not tried to contact her after the phenomenal kiss they had shared that night. But he hadn't, so she could only assume he wasn't interested.   


* * *

 

Severus wanted to contact Hermione, but he remembered that she had been repaying the favor for having saved her at Hogwarts. He was sure she'd only done it out of a sense of obligation, not from any sort of attraction. What was he thinking? She was Hermione Granger; she could have anyone. She would never consider him.

He hadn't wanted to go to the gathering, but Minerva had forced him. He'd lost a bet; he was quite sure she had cheated.

Technically, it was a reunion of Order members, but unofficially it was an engagement party for Harry and Ginny.  


* * *

 

By the time he'd arrived, the party had been going on for quite some time. A good many of the attendees were deep into their cups.

George Weasley threw an arm about his shoulders and loudly forgave him for the loss of his ear. He told Severus it was a casualty of war and that he didn't hold Snape responsible. Arthur finally came for his son, leading him off and thanking Severus for not hexing him. But Severus knew deep down it was not George's ear but the loss of his twin that had him drowning his sorrows in Firewhisky.  


* * *

 

By the end of the night, the party had degenerated into silly drunken games. Having already completed Spin the Bottle and Truth or Dare, someone suggested Seven Minutes in Heaven. Hermione, who'd been hiding out in the corner of the library, was dragged into the game by her so called friends, as was Severus by Minerva, the vindictive witch.

The two were, of course, immediately paired for seven minutes together in the broom cupboard. Seeing that Severus was embarrassed by the harassment of his peers, Hermione decided to take matters into her own hands. Standing, she reached for his hand.   


* * *

 

There were numerous 'Oooh's' and catcalls from the crowd, but Hermione refused to let them bother her.

"Come on, Severus. It's not as if we've never been alone in a cupboard before."

People gaped.

"That's true," he replied, taking her hand. "On more than one occasion."

Their mutual friends just stared, speechless, as Hermione led him inside and firmly shut the door.

Once inside, she turned to him and said softly, "It's all right, Severus, you really don't have to kiss me if you don't want to. We'll just wait for the seven minutes to be done, then, we'll leave."   


* * *

 

Hearing the disappointment in her voice, he tipped her face up to look into her eyes.

"What if I do want to kiss you? What if I've thought of nothing else since that night at the Ministry?"

"Why didn't you contact me?" she asked, puzzled.

"I thought you were repaying a debt; I didn't think you really wanted me."

"Silly Slytherin," she declared, sliding into his arms. "We're wasting our seven minutes. Kiss me."

Severus cast the same silent locking spell he'd used before. "Fuck seven minutes," he said. "Let them go find their own cupboard; this one is occupied."  


* * *

 

 

It was a bit over a year later that they met again in the same broom cupboard on the night of Harry and Ginny's wedding. Hermione and Ron had stood as Harry's best mates, while Luna had stood for Ginny.

It was nearing the end of reception when Severus discreetly pulled Hermione into the cupboard. Before long, there was a short scream from inside. Harry rushed over see what was the matter.

Upon opening the door, he found Hermione sobbing softly in Severus arms. At their questioning stares, he responded, "Oh, for Merlin's sake, she's just agreed to marry me."  


* * *

 

So it went for the rest of their lives. At every opportunity, Severus was snatching Hermione into a cupboard for a quick kiss, grope or shag.

She in turn would drag him off to some stuffy Ministry affair, only to whisper that she wasn't wearing any knickers and pull him into some hidden alcove.

Rumor had it that their second child was actually conceived in one of Filch's storage cupboards. Preposterous!

But there was never a shadow of doubt, anywhere in the Wizarding world, that Severus Snape's marriage was anything but true love.

True love, it seems, grows in cupboards.

 

FIN


End file.
